Skip to content

#42BDFF Color

#42BDFF is rgb(66, 189, 255) in RGB, hsl(201, 100%, 63%) in HSL, and about cmyk(74%, 26%, 0%, 0%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Deep Sky Blue (#00BFFF), clearly related but distinguishable side by side at ΔE 5.47. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#42BDFF
HEX#42BDFF
RGBrgb(66, 189, 255)
HSLhsl(201, 100%, 63%)
HSVhsv(201, 74%, 100%)
CMYKcmyk(74%, 26%, 0%, 0%)
OKLCHoklch(75.9% 0.142 236.8)
LABlab(72.06% -18.62 -43.12)
LCHlch(72.06% 46.97 246.64)

What #42BDFF Is Called

Most hex codes have no name: there are 16.7 million of them and a few thousand registered names. These are the named colors nearest to #42BDFF, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

Deep Sky Blue#00BFFFΔE 5.47Picton Blue#45B1E8ΔE 7.22Vivid Cerulean#00AAEEΔE 7.38Maya Blue#73C2FBΔE 9.25Blue Jeans#5DADECΔE 9.29Twitter Blue#26A7DEΔE 9.8

Browse the full index of named colors A-Z or every blue in the library.

#42BDFF Channel Values

How #42BDFF breaks down in each color model. Hue is measured in degrees around the color wheel; saturation, lightness, and the CMYK inks are percentages.

ModelChannelsNotes
RGBR 66 · G 189 · B 2558-bit channels as sent to the display
HSLH 201° · S 100% · L 63%Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSVH 201° · S 74% · V 100%Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYKC 74% · M 26% · Y 0% · K 0%Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance2.11:1 vs white · 9.95:1 vs blackWCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #42BDFF background. AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text; AAA requires 7:1. Contrast is one check, not a full accessibility review.

Fails AAWhite text2.11:1AA normal AA large AAA normal
TextBlack text9.95:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #42BDFF in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #42BDFF

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #42BDFF; analogous colors sit beside it; triadic and split-complementary sets spread evenly around the wheel. Select any swatch for its own breakdown.

Base
#42BDFF
Complementary
#FF8442
Analogous
#42FFE3
Analogous
#425FFF
Triadic
#FF42BD
Triadic
#BDFF42
Split comp.
#FF425F
Split comp.
#FFE342

Tints & Shades of #42BDFF

Lighter tints and darker shades built by moving the lightness channel while holding hue and saturation, which is what you want for hover states, backgrounds, and text variants.

Tints

#5CC6FF
#75CFFF
#8FD8FF
#A8E1FF
#C2EAFF
#DBF3FF

Shades

#1AAFFF
#0098EB
#007EC2
#006094
#00466B
#00283D

Want a full 50-950 ramp with semantic roles? Generate design tokens from #42BDFF.

How #42BDFF Looks with Color Vision Deficiency

Simulated with the Viénot, Brettel & Mollon LMS projection model. Anomalous types are rendered as partial versions of the matching dichromacy, which is an approximation rather than a per-person clinical model.

Typical#42BDFF
Protanopia#AFAFFF
Protanomaly#90B5FF
Deuteranopia#A1A1FF
Deuteranomaly#86ADFF
Tritanopia#00C7C7
Tritanomaly#23C3E0
Achromatopsia#B2B2B2

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #42BDFF in Code

Copy-ready declarations for the places this color usually ends up.

CSS custom property--color-42bdff: #42BDFF;
CSS backgroundbackground-color: #42BDFF;
Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-42bdff': '#42BDFF' }
SwiftUIColor(red: 0.259, green: 0.741, blue: 1.000)
Android XML<color name="color_42bdff">#42BDFF</color>
SVG fillfill="#42BDFF"

More Blue Colors

#42BDFF sits in the blue family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

000024fafaff00002ef9fafb000033f8fafc000038f8f8ff000042f5faff000047f5f5ff002147007dfa0f52ba1c39bb2a3439372aac4e3cc364609a7abdff979aaab8dbffd6d6ff

#42BDFF Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #42BDFF?

#42BDFF is a light blue — rgb(66, 189, 255) in RGB and hsl(201, 100%, 63%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Deep Sky Blue (#00BFFF), which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side at a CIE76 distance of 5.47.

What is the RGB value of #42BDFF?

#42BDFF is rgb(66, 189, 255) — red 66, green 189, and blue 255 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #42BDFF?

#42BDFF converts to approximately cmyk(74%, 26%, 0%, 0%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #42BDFF be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #42BDFF scores 2.11:1 against white and 9.95:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #42BDFF as a CSS color keyword?

No. #42BDFF is not one of the CSS color keywords, so it has to be written as a hex, rgb() or hsl() value. The closest keyword is deepskyblue (#00BFFF) at a CIE76 distance of 5.47, which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side.

Open #42BDFF in a Tool

Hex to RGBHex to HSLHex to CMYKHex to OKLCHHex to PantoneBuild a paletteMake a gradient

Keep exploring: every blue in the color library, the guide to shades of blue, or the full color library.